私の知っている寿司屋の若い主人は、亡くなった彼の父親を、いまだに尊敬している。
The young owner of the sushi restaurant I know still respects his late father.
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Normally, when people talk about deceased relatives, they tend to idealize them, so I thought his memories of his father would be the same.
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However, my thoughts gradually began to change.
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After graduating from high school, he learned everything he needed to become a sushi chef from his father, including how to make sushi and cook rice.
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His father is so strict that if he sees the rice hasnt been cooked well, hell flip over the rice cooker, but since his fathers skills are exceptional, he cant complain at all.
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However, one day, unable to bear it any longer, he asked, Why am I the only one being treated so strictly? His father replied, Its precisely because you are my son that I am strict with you. After his father passed away and he inherited the shop as an adult, he realized just how useful the skills his father had strictly taught him were, and he truly understood their meaning.
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Every time I hear about this young owner, I feel deeply jealous from the bottom of my heart.
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Because there exists, in a sense, the kind of father-child relationship that we consider ideal.
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At that time, the child was learning not only skills but also a way of life from their father.
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The father never compromises on the sushi he makes, putting his heart into everything he does—even cooking the rice. That way of living is passed down along with his skills.
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That is what a true father really looks like.
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The reason I envy this young owner is that I cant teach such skills to my own son.
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私が今日まで習得した小説を書く技術を彼に教えることはできない。
今の多くの父親も私と同じような哀しみを子供に持っているにちがいない。
自分が習得した技術を子供に教えられぬ哀しみ、あるいは教えるべき技術を持たない哀しみが心のどこかにあるにちがいない。
そして子供にとっても父親はそれによって、自分が将来を生きる知恵を伝えてくれる師ではなく、ただ煙ったい存在か、友人のようなパパにすぎないのであろう。
せめてそれなら子供に自分の趣味を吹きこもう。
ツリの好きな父親は子供にツリを、レコードの好きな父親は子供にクラシックを、薔薇づくりの好きな父親は花のつくり方を子供に教えようとは思うことがあるが……。
遠藤周作『勇気ある言葉』毎日新聞社による
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